Rail-joint



J. BEADLE.

(No Model.)

RAIL JOINT.

No. 590,816. Patented Sept. 28, 1897 wings W UNITED STATES PATE T FFIGE.

JESSE BEADLE, OF SHICKSHINNY, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,816, datedSeptember 28, 1897.

Application filed July 10, 1896.

T0 ail whom it mcty conoern;

Be it known that I, JESSE BEADLE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Shickshinny, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain Improvements in Rail- Joints, of which the followingis aspecification.

This invention relates to joints for the meeting ends of railway-railsor beams, the object of the invention being to provide a joint that willafford a support for the ends of the rails or beams, and a furtherobject being to provide means for tightening the joint should .it workloose on account of traffic in the case of a rail-joint or of any strainwhen used in connection with beams.

This invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure l is a sectional view of the joint, showing it as appliedto a railway-rail. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the members ofthe joint detached. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the joint, showing it whenin use as a connection for the meeting ends of railway-rails. Fig. 4 isan inverted plan view of the joint shown in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is an endView of the members of the joint projected so as to illustrate theinclined edges of the interlocking members.

In the drawings, A represents one member of the joint, and B representsthe other member. The members are provided with the ordinary flange a,adapted to be confined to the web of the rail by the ordinary bolts 6.Connected to the flange a of the memberA is the portion a, which lapsunder the base of the rail and forms a support for the same. Connectedto this portion a is the interlocking portion A. The member B is ofsimilar construction to the member A, except that the interlockingportion B is bent in an opposite direction to the portion A, so that theportion 1) forms the lowermost part of the joint and may rest upon theties, tie-plates, or stringers.

The members of the joint are so bent in forming the interlockingportions A and B that the webs connecting the same with the flanges a ofthe joint form the walls a and 19 with which said interlocking portionsare adapted to engage when the joint is fitted together. \Vhen themembers of the joint are driven $erial No. 598,706. (No model.)

The member-A is provided with slots ato allow the same to be driven ontothe memberB should the joint become loose, it being simply necessary toloosen the bolts 1), which hold the joint to the rail, to enable themember A to be driven ontothe member B, so as to wedge the joint moretightly. After this has been done the bolts 1) can be again tightenedand the joint is ready for further use.

The interlocking portions A and B are tapered at a: and y, and the wallsa and b are tapered in the same direction, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4,and 5. When the members of the joint are placed together, the inclinededge as of the interlocking portion A bears against the wall I) of themember B and the inclined edge y of the interlocking portion B bearsagainst the wall a of the member A, and asthese interlocking portionsare pushed or driven onto each other, so as to permit the insertion ofthe bolts 19, the members of the joint are firmly wedged together, andthe flanges a of the same are securely held against the web of the railsor beams, the base portions forming a bridge joint or bearing for themeeting ends of the same. A space a is left between the wall a of thememberA and the portion'b of the memberB, so as to allow for any spreadof the metal of the interlocking portions due to the wedging of the oneupon the other.

Although I have shown and described my improved joint as applied to themeeting ends of railway-rails, it is obvious that it may be used as aconnection for beams of any description.

I claim as my invention-- 1. A joint for the meeting ends ofrailwayrails or beams having flanges adapted to engage the web of therail or beam, portions for supporting the base of the same, saidsupporting portions being bent to form interlocking members, one of saidmembers being bent in one direction, and the other member being bent inthe opposite direction, and walls formed by the bendingof saidinterlocking members with which they are adapted to engage.

2. A joint for the meeting ends of railwayrails or beams havinginterlocking members, portions adapted to support the base of the railsor beams and flanges for engaging the web of the same formed integralwith the interlocking members, and walls having faces inclined from endto end of the joint formed by the bending of said interlocking membersand with which they are adapted to engage, the interlocking member ofone section of the joint engaging the wall of the opposite section andvice versa.

A joint for the meeting ends of railwayrails or beams, havingwedge-shaped interlocking members, flanges to engage the web of the railor beam and portions upon which the base of the same may rest formedintegral with the interlocking members, and webs connecting the portionssupporting the base of the rail or beam and the interlocking memberswhereby a wedge-shaped space is formed in each interlocking section ofthe joint adapted to receive the wedge-shaped interlocking members,whose inclined faces engage the inclined faces of the connecting-webs.

4. A11 interlockingjoint for the meeting ends of railway-rails or beamshaving flanges to engage the web of the rails or beams and the base ofthe same, each section of the joint having a wedge-shaped interlockingmember, and webs connecting the interlocking members with the flanges ofthe joint-sections and forming wedge-shaped spaces for the reception ofsaid members, the sections of the joint when fitted together leaving aspace between the side walls of the interlocking parts allowing forlongitudinal adjustment of the joint to lock it to the rails.

5. The combination in a joint for the meeting ends of railway-rails orbeams, of the flanges A and B adapted to webs of the rails or beams,portions supporting the base of the rails and interlocking members A, Bformed integral with said flanges, said interlocking members havinginclined faces and webs also inclined from end to end adapted to engageone with the other, with bolts for securing the joint to the rails, oneof the jointsections having elongated openings in its flange to allowfor longitudinal adjustment without removing said bolts.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JESSE BEADLE. Vitnesses:

W. A. CAMPBELL, JAMES P. SORBER.

